Some students don't think she should be punished for what she does on her own time.

"It's a teacher that's only five or six years older than our oldest students, so we kind of relate to her on a personal level," Shaun, an Overland High School student, said.

The students have taken their protest to Twitter where "#freecrunkbear" has become a popular tag amongst the students.

Whether Ms. McKinney ever returns to the classroom is yet to be decided. It's frankly out of the hands of the students. But they're still hoping to send a message.

Other teachers say they support McKinney's right to free speech and don't think she should be fired for it. They do think what she did was not smart, and it has become a distraction in their classrooms.